CEBU CITY, Sept. 10 — The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Region 7 on Thursday reached a consensus on a PHP13 increase in the minimum daily wage in Metro Cebu, an official said.

Exequiel R. Sarcauga, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 director and one of the government representatives in the wage board, said the minimum daily wage outside Metro Cebu and elsewhere in the region will remain unchanged.

Metro covers all the cities and towns from Carcar City in the south to Danao City in the north, including Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova town.

Sarcauga said the increase will bring to PHP353 the minimum daily wage in Metro Cebu, which currently stands at PHP340.

He said there is no date set yet for the effectivity of the new round of minimum daily wage increase.

Earlier, labor groups in Cebu filed petitions for an increase in the daily wage ranging from PHP60 to P120.

But management groups opposed the wage hike petitions, saying any increase will only result in mass layoffs of workers and increase unemployment in the region. (PNA)